Many computer application programs include functionality for utilizing user interface controls for expanding/collapsing data displayed in one or more columns or rows in an electronic document. Currently however, these computer application programs provide a limited user experience in displaying expand/collapse functionality. In particular, current functionality is limited to an initial display of content prior to being expanded/collapsed and a final display of content after having been expanded/collapsed. Furthermore, the transition from the initial to the final displays is currently instantaneous. As a result, in many instances it may not be apparent to users viewing such functionality when content is expanded or collapsed, which content items the user to action on to expand/collapsed and what was the result of the user action.
Many computer application programs also include functionality for the sorting of data in an electronic document. For example, a user may wish to sort items of numerical data in an ascending or descending order. Currently however, computer application programs provide a limited experience in displaying data sorting. In particular, current functionality is limited to an initial display of data prior to being sorted and a final display of the data after having been sorted. Furthermore, the transition from the initial to the final displays is currently instantaneous. That is, the display of the old sort order is instantly redrawn to the display of the new sort order by the computer application programs. As a result, in many instances it may not be immediately apparent to users viewing such functionality whether or not data has been sorted, the identification of a column (from among multiple columns of data) their data is being sorted on and the direction of the sort. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the various embodiments of the present invention have been made.